‘The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’ not so desolate after all

JOSHUA STARNES, Special to the Observer

Published 5:38 am, Thursday, December 12, 2013

The newest “Hobbit” still suffers from its bloated length but the focus on action in place of extended wool-gathering keeps it hoping along for the most part. A great stonking dragon doesn’t hurt either.

Picking up right where “An Unexpected Journey” left off, Bilbo and company continue their trudge to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim the dwarves’ kingdom from the dragon that ran them off; in the process bumping into as many different call backs to “Lord of the Rings” as possible and more action sequences than you’d think someone could actually fit inside a three-hour film, from giant spider fights to evil town guards and white water barrel riding. Plus said dragon.

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Despite the adventure focus the still mighty running time offers plenty of acreage for co-writer/director Jackson to work on fleshing out his dwarf crew into recognizable individuals, that is when he’s not adding even more characters like Stephen Fry’s corrupt mayor or Evangeline Lilly’s dwarf curious elf-maid. He still has his favorites of course, particularly James Nesbitt’s Bofur who harbors a warm humanity (or dwarfanity anyway) few of the rest of the cast can match (including Bilbo himself). But most of it is focused on handsome young warrior Kili (Turner), though everyone gets a small turn to stand out from the background, something sorely lacking for “Unexpected Journey.” Still, it’s easy to get the feeling Jackson himself isn’t that interested in most of the clan, and may even have preferred to cut the number of dwarves down some, from the way he creates full bodied characters out of smaller roles like Fry’s Master or Luke Evans smuggler Bard who have maybe a quarter of the screen time the dwarves have managed so far. But they’re pretty good at throwing axes and sitting in barrels, so who cares?

All of that focus means some things have to fall into the background and by some things I mean Bilbo who is pushed aside whenever the film deviates from the source material. And deviate it does as Jackson and his three co-writers expand and expound on the world of Middle-Earth, adding politics and intrigue to the world of Rivertown and the elf kingdom and sending Ian McKellan’s Gandalf (always the saving grace of any scene) off on his own to examine the dark fortress which seems to be the home of the world’s evil. Jackson’s sure directorial hand draws forth solid performances from almost everyone—Lilly and Lee Pace’s arrogant Elf King are real standouts—and the work from his horde of art directors and animators continues to be top notch, but it’s still never quite as engrossing as the original book material which is where the root of all the adventure lies. That material often very quickly commenced with, however, and it’s not until Bilbo and company reach the Lonely Mountain that he or dwarf leader Thorin really come back into their own again.

That sort of thing is to be expected in any adaptation but is usually in replacement of some of the original material while maintaining the spirit, but Jackson is still determined to have his cake and eat it to, leaving us still with the odd pointless scene which doesn’t seem like it could ever be worth the payoff which is certainly not coming in this film. That’s not even taking into consideration the extensive (albeit beautiful) tracking and effects shots he indulges in, trying to show us every nook and cranny of his living Middle-Earth. His team knows how to do this by now, and it shows, but people seem to have stopped asking the question of whether it’s worthwhile to do something just because they can. Most of the extrapolation, however, is in the shape of continuous, almost non-stop action sequences which keep the pace jumping even as they draw out the running time even more. But they’re not short and even a ten-minute barrel ride isn’t enough to dissuade Jackson from adding in an entirely new goblin attack on the Rivertown, designed mainly it seems to give Orlando Bloom’s Legolas something to do.

Most of those problems, however, truly do go by the wayside once Bilbo finally does go down into the mountain to face that big dragon and Jackson and company show how willing they are to go off the beaten path in favor of a stronger film. And it is a stronger film, even with all the detours, filled with fraught action sequences, more balanced characterization and the beginnings of a feeling that all this waiting is going to pay off in something soon. Now let’s just hope that pay off is worth it.

Joshua Starnes has been writing and speaking on film since 2004; since 2012 he has been the president of the Houston Film Critics Society. He has a BA in English from the University of Houston. Follow him on twitter @JoshStarnesFilm

The Houston Film Critics Society is a not-for-profit organization of print, broadcast and Internet focused film critics based in the Greater Metropolitan Houston area. It was founded in 2007 to encourage substantive critical commentary on film and increase public awareness and appreciation for cinematic excellence.